Sensation and Perception Flashcards
Process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
Sensation
Sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli
Sensory receptors
Process by which our brain organizes and interprets sensory information, enabling us to recognize objects and events as meaningful
Perception
Information processing that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information
Bottom-up processing
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
Top-down processing
Conversion of one form of energy to another; transferring of stimulus energies (sights, sounds, etc) to neural impulses our brain can interpret
Transduction
The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them
Psychophysics
Minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
Absolute threshold
Theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) and background stimulation (noise)
Signal Detection Theory
Below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Subliminal
Minimum difference between two stimuli required for a detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a (just noticeable difference)
Difference threshold
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
Sensory adaptation
Mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
Perceptual set
Distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from short gamma rays to long radio transmissions
Wavelength
Dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light
Hue
The amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness. Intensity is determined by the wave’s height (amplitude)
Intensity
The light sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cods plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information
Retina
The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina
Accommodation
The ability to see objects in three dimensions, although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance
Depth perception
Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, size) even as illumination and retinal images change
Perceptual Constancy
The ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
Perceptual adaptation
